


open up your heart

by peachyteabuck



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: ? - Freeform, Autism Spectrum, Cats, Fluff, Just Friends, M/M, Moving, Teenagers, i can't tell if thats the right tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-22 19:11:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11973867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachyteabuck/pseuds/peachyteabuck
Summary: tyler lost a friend, and josh attempts to mend the hole is his new neighbor's heart





	open up your heart

**Author's Note:**

> title from cameo lover by kimbra 
> 
> i was just officially diagnosed (for the 2nd time) with depression and so i'm trying to cope with that affirmation. so, here's something cute, since all i do is write sad stuff all the time lmao

_if tyler misses anything, it’s the cat._

_his name was popcorn, and he was kind of a dick. but he was...tyler’s…dick. and that’s what mattered. tyler didn’t have much, especially since he had moved from his home state of ohio to some place in the middle of california._

_the cat was found, emaciated and crying, inside of their garage after everyone else had been out buying beds…or maybe grocery shopping? honestly, tyler didn’t know. he just knew he wanted the house to his angsty little self as he unpacked each box with care. that’s probably why he heard the crying, the house was deathly quiet as he maneuvered around boxes stacked on top of book shelves on top of boxes._

_the cat, little,  a deep brown thing with streaks of caramel, was curled around a pillow pet, and looked at tyler as if he knew the human couldn’t do anything but help him. tyler, of course, had no idea what to do, but did know that the cat looked halfway in death’s doorstep; so, he did what anyone else would do, he took the chicken that the family had deemed too dry to eat, broke it up into little pieces, and handed it to the cat until he wouldn’t eat anymore._

_that’s when he problem started, since now the cat wouldn’t leave him alone. he tried to get inside, followed tyler around every time he stepped out of the house, and even tried to follow him into his ca-_

“wait, wait,” josh interrupted. “you did all of that…for a cat? have you ever even had cats?”

 

tyler shrugs. “nah, but like, ya know…i had just moved here, i didn’t know anyone, and i just needed something to do. plus i wasn’t gonna let him die, and,” he stops for a second and waves his hands around, as if to erase his excuse to helping an innocent animal. “will you please stop interrupting me? i’m trying to tell you a story here.”

 

josh gives him a small smile, and gives an equally small apology. “fine, fine. you’re right, i’m sorry. please continue,”

 

 _the cat followed him everywhere, and of course nothing tyler did got the cat to leave him alone. at that point, he did the second thing any logical person would do…he called his mom._  
  


_“sweetie, you’ve never had a pet…and what would we do with it?” he could hear his mom wave off his father, who was  probably asking a question much worthier of their mother’s time than what tyler was trying to tell her._

_tyler attempted to stay as composed as possible, now in front of his laptop, which had approximately ten tabs open of cat information, from signs of worms, to vets in their area, to cat food cost, to a “how to” page about elderly cats._

_the cat, who at this point was still unnamed, was laying on an old blanket tyler used when he wanted to sit outside, purring and sleeping soundly in his bare room._

_tyler inhaled deeply before he began talking. “i know, but he’s really sweet, and we can even take him to the vet tomorrow, and he just…he’s really great and i think it’d be good to give him a nice, cozy rest of his life and…” he trailed off, hoping his mom would let him keep the cat with little resistance._

_thankfully, she did. possibly because there was a god, possibly because tyler was an extremely good kid, but probably because she was annoyed easily._

_“fine, whatever,” his mom said, and tyler silently rejoiced. “just…do whatever you need to do to keep him quiet for now and we’ll figure everything else out later.”_

josh interrupted again. “and then, what, the cat died?”

 

tyler kicked his feat, scattering some of the dirt that had rested on the back porch where they were sitting. “well, yeah, eventually.”

 

josh then realized that question was…probably contextually insensitive. shrinking back a little, he also reaches his arm out to rub the other boy’s back. “i’m sorry, bro…” he struggled with what to say next. “did he like…at least live a happy few days? when did you name him?”

 

tyler shrugged again. “it’s…fine. i named him popcorn because i thought it was a cute name. he lived a few weeks after that, actually. he never got back to like,” tyler made air quotes with his fingers. “a ‘normal weight,’ but he was pretty happy. played a little, but mostly napped on the bed while i did stuff around my room and asked for attention from me all the time.”

josh nodded, thinking as he talked. “that sounds good, you gave him a pretty good life.”

 

tyler nodded with him. “yeah, i just wish i could’ve done it for a little longer…”

 

josh rubbed tyler’s back a little, like his mom did when he say day. they’re both silent for a while, tyler peaking over every so often at popcorns’ grave, marked by a clay cross he found at a thrift store by his mom’s work.

 

it’s two weeks later when they see each other again in person, and while tyler was still broken up about the death of his first pet, josh seemed giddy.

 

tyler noticed this, of course, right off the bat. “what are you so happy about?”

 

josh grinned widely, before grabbing his friend by the hand and pulling him into the garage, where a small box laid in smack dab in the middle. tyler was confused, until he heard loud purrs coming from inside the cardboard.

 

“this lady at my mom’s work has a friend who found a cat in her yard...my mom heard about it some how and thought you’d lik-“ this time josh didn’t have time to finish, before tyler cut him off with the biggest hug he’d ever gotten (which, to this day, remains unmatched).

 

“thank you,” tyler whispered, before he ran over and picked the cat up. she immediately took a liking to tyler, who pet her everywhere until her purrs began to echo off of the cement garage walls and the metal garage doors.

 

josh smiled, walking over to join tyler in petting the now-rescued cat.

 

“what are you going to name this one?” josh asked.

 

tyler looked at her thick calico fur, before deciding on a name fit for any adorable kitten.

 

“oatmeal,” he said with a grin.

 

josh matched his smile as he replied. “perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> comment pls!! lemme know what u think.  
> also, i don't have autism, but i tried to keep it what ppl i know do have it say it's like/what i've read from ppl who have it. please feel free to lmk if i overstepped a line!!


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